Why Should Communicators Learn To Associate Professor Texas State University Knight Journalism Fellow slideshare.net/cindyroyal

“Learning these skills isn’t just important for your future, it’s important for our country’s future.” Barack Obama

“Everyone should learn a computer language, because it teaches you how to think.” Steve Jobs

Computers will be a part of any media career and most other careers

Data, data everywhere

People will get information in a variety of embedded and atmospheric ways

Storytelling has become interactive

Coding is becoming an important literacy Supports algorithmic thinking Develops a problem-solving mindset An expression of innovation and creativity Provides a perspective on the tech environment

We have a high % of women in the mass communication discipline An opportunity to address the digital divide

The role of media platform The content management system defines a media company’s business Who can publish, participate and share? What kinds of stories can be told? What kind of analytics are available? Need to be able to work efficiently in a CMS

Retrieving data: Scraping and APIs

What is Computer Programming? Problem solving using computer code Working with and developing algorithms to accomplish specific tasks Web development is a type of computer programming Combination of content, design, functionality and data Computers are dumb, but obedient –will do what you tell them. It’s fun! Provides a sense of accomplishment.

Types of Languages Markup languages – HTML/CSS Compiler languages – Java, C, C++ - used for large systems Interpreted languages – JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP Data-oriented languages - SQL Visual languages – like Scratch for kids Web Development Frameworks – Bootstrap, Django, Rails Libraries - JQuery

Basic Coding Syntax HTML – using tags to markup text My Website Welcome to my website CSS – applying design and layout body { background: white; font-size: 12px; color: black; } h1 { font-size: 30px; color: red; }

Basic Coding Syntax Data types – string, integer, etc. Variables – can store and reuse information x = 10; name = "Cindy";

Logic: applied through if statements and loops if (age >= 18) { document.write(“You are old enough to vote”); } else { document.write(“You are not yet old enough to vote”); } x = 0; sum = 1; while (x < 10) { sum = sum * 2; x = x+1; }

Functions: ability to reuse coding instructions and call when needed function addNum(x) { sum = sum + x; document.write(sum); } addNum(10);

Coding in the Curriculum HTML/CSS Bootstrap Wordpress Drupal JavaScript/Jquery Charting Tools Python Web Scraping/API Web Frameworks

Get Started Codecademy.com Lynda.com Chartle/Wordle Google Charts, MyMaps and Fusion Tables Chart.js or HighCharts Spreadsheet basics Coding meetups/hackathons in your community, like Girls Who Code, Hacks/Hackers Review great work CodeActually.com